Juan Gris
Guitar with Music Paper
1926-1927












It was Christmas 1998, and I had come up with the idea to begin a music publication that would assist people as they built on their writing skills, by having them cover the changing face of music. So I formed a non-profit that would be about music, people and information.

As a non-profit organization based in Austin, Texas, which is known as the live music capital of the world, our goal has been to not only offer help to a new crop of writers as we move from issue to issue and year to year, but also provide a place on the World Wide Web where music lovers can go to experience a fresh take on music. Call it the Jupiter Index difference.

Our magazine name came from Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony. Just as his musical work is distinctive and excellent, we strive to share the same fullness and intensity good music has to offer. The word "index" refers to taking the pulse of something important. We at Jupiter Index love music and strive to convey this love though the magazine.

Just recently, in the last few years, we, have began to share more by reaching out into the community where Jupiter Index is based to talk about writing with young people and the different ways one can write about music while building on one’s writing skills. Our main goal was and is for people to improve their writing. Over time these writers helped move the magazine forward by covering diverse concerts, CDs, and music Websites, and working to interview musicians such as Koko Talyor, Eric Johnson, Sara Hickman, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, blues legend Pinetop Perkins, and classical violist Hilary Hahn.

Each edition of Jupiter Index has provided people of diverse backgrounds an opportunity to interview new and established artists. And I have enjoyed seeing the writers share their thoughtful writing with our readers. It has also been special to have readers from New York to Australia reading this publication. There has been great pleasure hearing the stories of how music is formed and discovering how each artist creates and forms the unique sounds of music. We have been blessed.

And so, in this special ten-year anniversary edition, we have interviewed many popular artists such as country recording legend Lloyd Maines, musician Mary Weiss, rock artist Ian McLagan, to Marianne Faithfull. This issue features a wide collection of artists sharing their top-ten list of unique music memories, a top-ten list of up-and-coming artists, ten best concerts attended, and a top-ten list of must-have CDs if alone on a desert island.

Ten years is a long time. We are grateful for your past support – thank you. And we ask for your continued support and hope to hear from you, our readers, as we look ahead to new journeys and new stories about the changing face of music.

Gabrielle Burns
Editor

Archived interviews and reviews can be found by visiting the old site here: http://www.jupiterindex.com/previous.